A Little Bit of Me

A Little Bit of Me

I watched the movie in fascination: my first movie in a movie theater, and it was larger than life! I was eight years old and seeing “The Black Stallion” on the big screen, which cemented my passion.

Below is the scene from the movie where Alec is stranded on the beach with only the wild stallion.

From the earliest of days, I was horse-crazy. My first experiences in the equine world coming from a litte black and white pony named Lena.

When I was eight, I got my own horse - a little bay half-Arabian gelding named Jimmy. He was bred and trained by my Great Uncle and gifted to me (for a small fee from my parents) upon his retirement from the horse scene.

My hopes and dreams were inspired by The Black Stallion, the legend of Bucephalus, and the several aunts and uncles granting me access to horses, which nurtured my obsession. I must also give credit to my parents for their willingness to take on horse ownership on my behalf.

In the Legend of Bucephalus, Alexander the Great earned ownership of a horse, a black stallion, by taming the beast no one else could ride. He and the horse formed a partnership of trust and the horse carried Alexander the Great through many battles during the years of his rule. The legend implies the relationship between horse and boy was built on mutual respect. The boy listened to the horse. Because he was able to solve the issue, he earned the horse’s trust and loyalty.

The idea for a palpable, yet nearly invisible, connection is what I have always strived to achieve with horses. Although, I have lost my way and and lost my confidence many times over the years, I keep returning to my roots. I can’t stop. I have seen glimpses of the greatness, which feed my hope and lead me back to the dream. I want to follow the path to developing a nearly magical connection with my horse, and I wish to share it with other people. What I am discovering as I get older and more immersed, is that nurturing that connection, finding that trust and developing it into a partnership, is best achieved by learning about ourselves.

I value a relationship with horses, and how it mirrors relationships in life. And how we, as humans, perceive the world. If we are willing to be open and trusting, horses can help us fulfill our own potential, which, in turn, nurtures theirs. That is the value in any passion, though - its ability to teach us about ourselves. I wrote about one of a multitude of examples here - "The Impacts of a Truth," about how my heart-felt passion helped me view, understand and better my relationships in the human world, and horse world.

Alexander the Great was just a child when he tamed the wild horse and then ruled a country. He overcame incredible odds despite many naysayers because of the belief in himself and the trust of his beloved horse.

Thank you for reading! Leave comments below regarding your feelings on the issue of relating your passion to life and how it helps you! If you like this story, you can show your support with a small tip easily accessed by clicking on the “Tip” button at the bottom of this page - all proceeds go toward feeding my family, as they don’t really like hay as much as the horses do.

KJ Aartila grew up in a small, rural community surrounded by animals and family. She, along with her husband and daughter, horses and other pets, now live on 40 acres in Northern Wisconsin, surrounded by forest and wildlife. She has spent her life reading about, writing about and working with animals, her goal always to be as reliable, trustworthy and honest as a horse, but her innate humaness keeps getting in the way. She remains determined to keep trying, though.

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If you would like to see more information regarding my horse program, you can watch videos at my Youtube channel here.

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